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42 businesses agree to stop using plastic straws on Clearwater Beach

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Getting a plastic straw on Clearwater Beach could be next to impossible this summer.

In an effort to keep plastic straws out of the Bay, 42 businesses have voluntarily agreed to only use paper straws. Some customers aren't too happy about the change.

"I don't think it will have much of an impact," said Mark Walton.

Managers say some people have taken their frustrations out on the employees, yelling and cussing at them over the change. A manager at Clear Sky Diner said one customer even threatened to pour his drink on the floor if he didn't get a plastic straw.

"I wouldn't go that far," Walton said. "The paper straw just isn't good. It makes the drink takes differently. It feels different. and it falls apart."

Business owners said getting rid of the plastic straws has more positives for the environment than the negatives.

"If you want to enjoy a clean beach then be part of the movement of people who are working to conserve this naturally beautiful beach," said Frenchy's bartender, Autumn Scott.

According to environmentalists, plastic straws are responsible for the deaths of 100,000 marine mammals and one million seabirds.

A few businesses are thinking about keeping the paper straws after the summer.

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